Ship posture stabilization system

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a ship posture stabilization system including a plurality of trim tab members rotatably installed on left and right sides of a stern of a ship, tab drivers installed on the trim tab members to rotate the trim tab members so as to generate a lifting force due to the trim tab members, a posture sensor installed in the ship to measure a posture of the ship, and a controller which controls the tab drivers to rotate the trim tab members so as to stabilize the posture of the ship when it is determined that hull rolling of the ship occurs on the basis of detection information provided from the posture sensor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2019-0107235, filed on Aug. 30, 2019, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a ship posture stabilization system,and more specifically, to a ship posture stabilization system capable ofautomatically controlling a trim tab provided at a stern of a ship.

2. Discussion of Related Art

The marine leisure equipment industry mainly including boats, yachts,and the like is a new growth engine industry in Korea and is anessential industrial sector to become an advanced country.

However, in the case of a ship such as a power boat, hull trim occursdue to a linear characteristic of the boat, and excessive trim causesperformance reduction of the ship and a safety problem related to anunexpected accident of a sailor.

Particularly, a risk of a rollover accident of a ship is generated dueto lateral rolling, which occurs when the power boat is steered, and aperformance reduction problem occurs due to resistance generated due tothe rolling. Accordingly, in the conventional case, a trim tab isinstalled on a stern of the ship to stabilize a posture of a hull usinga lifting force generated due to the trim tab.

In Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1674624, one of the conventionaltrim tab apparatuses is disclosed, which includes a plurality ofdeflecting members provided with lower surfaces called first surfacessubstantially aligned with an extension, which is disposed toward a rearportion of a hull, of a lower portion of a hull and submerged in water,and which has a technology in which the deflecting members are connectedto the hull through joints to control trim of the ship by controllingangles of the deflecting members.

However, since a sailor of a boat should manually operate theconventional trim tab, in a case in which the sailor is an amateur,there is a disadvantage in that it is difficult to properly operate thetrim tab according to hull rolling of a ship.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing a ship posturestabilization system capable of automatically controlling a trim tabaccording to an inclined angle or speed of a ship.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided aship posture stabilization system including a plurality of trim tabmembers rotatably installed on left and right sides of a stern of aship, tab drivers installed on the trim tab members to rotate the trimtab members so as to generate a lifting force due to the trim tabmembers, a posture sensor installed in the ship to measure a posture ofthe ship, and a controller which controls the tab drivers to rotate thetrim tab members so as to stabilize the posture of the ship when it isdetermined that hull rolling of the ship occurs on the basis ofdetection information provided from the posture sensor.

The ship posture stabilization system may further include a speed sensorinstalled in the ship to obtain information about a speed of the ship,wherein, when the hull rolling of the ship occurs, the controller mayadjust a rotating angle of the trim tab member with respect to alongitudinal centerline of the ship according to the speed or aninclined angle of the ship on the basis of detection informationprovided from the speed sensor and the posture sensor.

In a case in which lateral rolling of the ship occurs, the controllermay rotate the trim tab member disposed at an inclined side with respectto a center of the ship among the trim tab members.

In a case in which a longitudinal centerline of the ship is inclined atan angle greater than or equal to a preset reference angle with respectto a water surface, the controller may also rotate the trim tab membersto generate the lifting force at a rear side of the ship.

A moving guide groove may be formed in a lower surface of the trim tabmember to extend in a front-rear direction so as to guide movement ofwater flowing along a lower portion of the trim tab member due tomovement of the ship, and a lateral width of the moving guide groove maydecrease toward a rear end portion from a front end portion so as toincrease a speed of the water flowing along the lower surface of thetrim tab member toward a rear side of the trim tab member.

A plurality of guide feathers may also be formed to protrude from aninner wall surface of the moving guide groove of the trim tab member soas to not induce an eddy current of water passing through the movingguide groove and to extend in a front-rear direction to have apredetermined length.

The ship posture stabilization system according to the present inventionmay further include auxiliary lifting force generators installed atedges of the trim tab members so as to generate an additional liftingforce when the trim tab members rotate, the auxiliary lifting forcegenerator may include an auxiliary frame fixed to the edge of the trimtab member, an auxiliary tube installed in the auxiliary frame, providedwith a filling space filled with a fluid therein to expand due to aprovided hydraulic pressure, and having an airfoil form when expandingdue to the hydraulic pressure of the filling space, and a fluid injectorinstalled in the auxiliary tube to inject the fluid into the fillingspace, and the controller may operate the fluid injector of theauxiliary lifting force generator installed in the corresponding trimtab member when rotating the trim tab member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart by describing exemplary embodiments thereof in detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating a ship posture stabilizationsystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating the ship posture stabilization systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the ship posture stabilization system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view illustrating a trim tab member of a ship posturestabilization system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view illustrating a trim tab member of a ship posturestabilization system according to still another embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view illustrating a trim tab member of a ship posturestabilization system according to yet another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a ship posture stabilization system according toembodiments of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. Since the present inventionallows for various changes and numerous embodiments, specificembodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detailin the written description. However, this is not intended to limit thepresent invention to the specific embodiments, and it is to beappreciated that all changes, equivalents, and substitutes that do notdepart from the spirit and technical scope of the present invention areencompassed in the present invention. Like numbers refer to likeelements throughout the description of the figures. In the accompanyingdrawings, sizes of structures may be greater than those of actualstructures for clarity of the present invention or may be smaller thanthose of the actual structure such that a schematic structure of thepresent invention is understood.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and a second element could similarly be termed a firstelement without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting to the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined here.

A ship posture stabilization system 100 according to the presentinvention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to the drawings, the ship posture stabilization system 100includes a plurality of trim tab members 111 rotatably installed at leftand right sides of a stern of a ship 15, tab drivers 112 installed inthe trim tab members 111 to rotate the trim tab members so as togenerate a lifting force using the trim tab members 111, a posturesensor installed in the ship 15 to check a posture of the ship 15, aspeed sensor 114 installed in the ship 15 to obtain information about aspeed of the ship 15, and a controller 115 configured to control the tabdrivers 112 to rotate the trim tab members 111 so as to stabilize theposture of the ship 15 when it is determined that hull rolling of theship 15 occurs on the basis of detection information provided from theposture sensor.

The trim tab member 111 is formed to have a plate form having apredetermined thickness, and a front end portion thereof is verticallyrotatably installed at a lower end portion of the stern of the ship 15.In this case, the trim tab member 111 is formed of a metallic materialhaving a predetermined strength, and a lateral width of the trim tabmember 111 increases toward a rear side thereof from the front endportion. Meanwhile, the trim tab member 111 is not limited to theillustrated embodiment and may also be formed to have various forms.

In this case, the plurality of trim tab members 111 may be installed atleft and right sides with respect to a center of the ship 15.

Lower end portions of the tab drivers 112 are rotatably installed at thetrim tab members, upper end portions thereof are rotatably installed ata stern side of the ship 15, and the tab drivers 112 include a pluralityof actuators 116 of which vertical lengths are increased and decreased.The actuators 116 are controlled by the controller 115.

A posture sensor 113 is installed in the ship 15 to detect a posture ofthe ship 15. A gyro sensor is applied to the posture sensor 113 tomeasure vertically- and horizontally-inclined angles of the ship 15.Meanwhile, the posture sensor 113 is not limited thereto, and any sensorwhich can measure an inclination extant of the ship 15 may be applied tothe posture sensor 113.

A speed sensor is installed in the ship 15 to obtain navigationinformation about the ship 15. In this case, the speed sensor isconnected to a control module of the ship 15, which stores or displaysthe navigation information about the ship 15, to collect thecorresponding navigation information. The speed sensor transmitsinformation about a speed of the ship 15 among pieces of the obtainednavigation information about the ship 15 to the controller 115.Meanwhile, the speed sensor is not limited thereto, and a speedmeasuring sensor installed in the ship 15 to measure a speed of the ship15 may also be applied to the speed sensor.

The controller 115 determines whether hull rolling of the ship 15 occurson the basis of detection information provided from the posture sensor.That is, in a case in which a horizontally-inclined angle of the ship 15is greater than or equal to a preset first reference angle based on aninitial posture of the ship 15, the controller 115 determines thatlateral rolling of the ship 15 occurs. In addition, in a case in which alongitudinal centerline of the ship 15 based on the initial posture ofthe ship 15 is inclined at an angle greater than or equal to a presetsecond reference angle with respect to a water surface, the controller115 determines that rolling of the ship 15 occurs. In this case, anoperator may input the first and second reference angles in thecontroller 115 before steering the ship 15.

When the controller 115 determines that rolling of the ship 15 occurs,the controller 115 controls the tab driver 112 to rotate the trim tabmembers 111. In this case, the controller 115 operates the tab driver112 to rotate the trim tab members 111 downward at predetermined angleswith respect to the longitudinal centerline of the ship 15 and mayrotate the corresponding trim tab members 111 such that a rear endportion of the corresponding trim tab member 111 protrudes from a lowerportion of the ship 15.

In this case, when the controller 115 determines that the lateralrolling of the ship 15 occurs, the controller 115 controls the tabdriver 112 to rotate the trim tab member 111, which is disposed at aninclined side with respect to a center of the ship 15, among the trimtab members 111 installed at the left and right sides of the ship 15. Asan example, in a case in which lateral rolling occurs in which the ship15 is inclined in a leftward direction, the controller 115 controls thetab driver 112 to rotate the trim tab member 111 which is installed at aleft stern of the ship 15, downward.

In addition, in a case in which the longitudinal centerline of the ship15 is inclined at an angle greater than or equal to the preset secondreference angle with respect to a water surface, the controller 115controls the tab driver 112 to rotate all of the trim tab members 111downward so as to generate a lifting force at a rear side of the ship15.

In this case, when hull rolling of the ship 15 occurs, the controller115 adjusts rotating angles of the trim tab members 111 with respect tothe longitudinal centerline of the ship 15 to be different according toa speed or an inclined angle of the ship 15 based on detectioninformation provided from the speed sensor 114 and the posture sensoraccording to a preset algorithm.

That is, in a case in which a speed of the ship 15 is relatively high,since a lifting force generated by the trim tab members 111 is higherwhen compared to a case in which a speed of the ship 15 is low, thecontroller 115 may control rotating angles of the trim tab members 111with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the ship 15 to bedifferent according to the speed of the ship 15. As an example, in acase in which the controller 115 determines that rolling of the ship 15occurs, the controller 115 may rotate the trim tab members 111 at largerotating angles with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the ship15 when a speed of the ship 15 is higher.

In addition, since a lifting force generated by the trim tab members 111required to stabilize a posture of the ship 15 is different according toan inclined angle of the ship 15, the controller 115 may controlrotating angles of the trim tab members 111 with respect to thelongitudinal centerline of the ship 15 according to the inclined angleof the ship 15. As an example, in a case in which the controller 115determines that rolling of the ship 15 occurs, when an inclined angle ofthe ship 15 is larger and a speed of the ship 15 is higher, thecontroller 115 may rotate the trim tab members 111 at large rotatingangles with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the ship 15.

Since the ship posture stabilization system 100 according to the presentinvention formed as described above can automatically control the trimtab according to an inclined angle or a speed of the ship 15, even anamateur can properly control the trim tab according to navigation of theship 15, and thus there is an advantage in that the ship 15 can be morestably steered.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 4, a trim tab member 120 according to anotherembodiment of present invention is illustrated.

Components having the same functions as those illustrated in theprevious drawings will be denoted with the same reference numerals.

Referring to the drawing, in the trim tab member 120, a moving guidegroove 121 is formed in a lower surface of the trim tab member 120 tolongitudinally extend so as to guide movement of water flowing along alower portion of the trim tab member 120 due to movement of a ship 15.

The moving guide groove 121 is formed to be recessed upward from a lowersurface of the trim tab member to have a predetermined depth, and frontand rear ends thereof are formed to open. In this case, the moving guidegroove 121 is formed to decrease a lateral width from a front endportion toward a rear end portion such that a speed of water flowingalong the lower surface of the trim tab member 120 increases as thewater flows to a rear side of the trim tab member 120.

Since the movement of water is guided to the rear side by the movingguide groove 121, generation of an eddy current is prevented on a rearsurface of the trim tab member 120, a speed of water increases, alifting force generated by the trim tab member 120 increases, and thus alifting force required to stabilize a posture of the ship 15 may begenerated even when a rotating angle of the trim tab member 120 isrelatively small.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 5, a trim tab member 130 according to still anotherembodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

Referring to the drawings, in the trim tab member 130, a plurality ofguide feathers 131 are formed to protrude from an inner wall surface ofa moving guide groove 121 so as to not induce an eddy current of waterpassing through the moving guide groove 121.

The guide feather 131 protrudes downward from a ceiling surface of themoving guide groove 121 and extends in a front-rear direction. In thiscase, the guide feather 131 may be formed to have a streamline shape inwhich a lateral width increases toward a central portion from a frontend portion and decreases toward a rear end portion from the centralportion. The plurality of guide feathers 131 are formed to be spacedapart from each other in longitudinal and lateral directions. Sincewater passing through the moving guide groove 121 is guided rearward bythe guide feathers 131, generation of an eddy current is prevented.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 6, a ship posture stabilization system 200 accordingto yet another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

Referring to the drawing, the ship posture stabilization system 200further includes auxiliary lifting force generators 210 installed atedges of each trim tab member 120 to generate an additional liftingforce when the trim tab members 120 rotate. The auxiliary lifting forcegenerators 210 include auxiliary frames 211, auxiliary tubes 212, andfluid injectors (not shown).

The auxiliary frames 211 are installed at left and right edges of thetrim tab member 120 and formed to extend to have lengths correspondingto a longitudinal length of the trim tab member 120. In addition, in theauxiliary frames 211, installation holes are vertically formed to passthrough the auxiliary frames 211 so as to install the auxiliary tubes212. The installation holes extend in a front-rear direction to havepredetermined lengths.

The auxiliary tubes 212 are installed in the auxiliary frames 211 andprovided with filling spaces therein filled with fluids so as to expanddue to provided hydraulic pressures, and the filling spaces are formedto have airfoil forms when expanding due to the hydraulic pressures. Theauxiliary tubes 212 are installed inside the installation holes of theauxiliary frames 211 and formed of a rubber material having apredetermined elasticity. The fluid may have a density higher thanwater. When the fluid is not injected into the filling space, a volumeof the auxiliary tube 212 is decreased and the auxiliary tube 212 entersinto the installation hole, and when the fluid is injected into thefilling space, lower and upper portions thereof protrude vertically fromthe auxiliary frame 211.

Although not illustrated in the drawing, the fluid injector includes anaccommodation tank accommodating the fluid therein, a supply pipeconnected between the auxiliary tube 212 and the accommodation tank, andan injection pump installed in the supply pipe to inject the fluidaccommodated in the accommodation tank into the auxiliary tube 212 or toreturn the fluid accommodated in the auxiliary tube 212 to theaccommodation tank. Meanwhile, the fluid injector is not limitedthereto, and any device capable of injecting the fluid into theauxiliary tube 212 or discharging the fluid accommodated in theauxiliary tube 212 to the outside of the auxiliary tube 212 may beapplied to the fluid injector.

Meanwhile, when the trim tab member 120 rotates, a controller 115 mayoperate the fluid injector of the auxiliary lifting force generator 210installed in the corresponding trim tab member 120 to expand theauxiliary tube 212. Here, in a case in which the trim tab member 120returns to an initial position, the controller 115 returns the fluid inthe auxiliary tube 212 to the accommodation tank so as to decrease theauxiliary tube 212.

In the ship posture stabilization system 200, even when a lifting forcegenerated at the trim tab member 120 by the auxiliary lifting forcegenerator 210 increases and a rotating angle of the trim tab member 120is relatively small, a lifting force required to stabilize a posture ofa ship 15 can be generated.

As described above, since a ship posture stabilization system accordingto the present invention can automatically control a trim tab accordingto an inclined angle or speed of a ship, even an amateur can properlycontrol the trim tab, and thus there is an advantage in that the shipcan be more stably steered.

The description about the disclosed embodiments is provided for thoseskilled in the art to use or implement the present invention. Variousmodifications of the embodiments will be clear to those skilled in theart, and general principles defined in the present specification may beapplied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited tothe embodiments disclosed in the present specification and should beinterpreted within the widest scope consistent with the principles andnovel features disclosed in the present specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ship posture stabilization system comprising: aplurality of trim tab members rotatably installed on left and rightsides of a stern of a ship; tab drivers installed on the trim tabmembers to rotate the trim tab members so as to generate a lifting forcedue to the trim tab members; a posture sensor installed in the ship tomeasure a posture of the ship; and a controller configured to controlthe tab drivers to rotate the trim tab members so as to stabilize theposture of the ship when it is determined that hull rolling of the shipoccurs on the basis of detection information provided from the posturesensor.
 2. The ship posture stabilization system of claim 1, furthercomprising a speed sensor installed in the ship to obtain informationabout a speed of the ship, wherein, when the hull rolling of the shipoccurs, the controller adjusts a rotating angle of the trim tab memberwith respect to a longitudinal centerline of the ship according to thespeed or an inclined angle of the ship on the basis of detectioninformation provided from the speed sensor and the posture sensor. 3.The ship posture stabilization system of claim 1, wherein in a case inwhich lateral rolling of the ship occurs, the controller rotates thetrim tab member disposed at an inclined side with respect to a center ofthe ship among the trim tab members.
 4. The ship posture stabilizationsystem of claim 1, wherein in a case in which a longitudinal centerlineof the ship is inclined at an angle greater than or equal to a presetreference angle with respect to a water surface, the controller rotatesthe trim tab members to generate the lifting force at a rear side of theship.
 5. The ship posture stabilization system of claim 2, wherein: amoving guide groove is formed in a lower surface of the trim tab memberto extend in a front-rear direction so as to guide movement of waterflowing along a lower portion of the trim tab member due to movement ofthe ship; and a lateral width of the moving guide groove decreasestoward a rear end portion from a front end portion so as to increase aspeed of the water flowing along the lower surface of the trim tabmember toward a rear side of the trim tab member.
 6. The ship posturestabilization system of claim 3, wherein: a moving guide groove isformed in a lower surface of the trim tab member to extend in afront-rear direction so as to guide movement of water flowing along alower portion of the trim tab member due to movement of the ship; and alateral width of the moving guide groove decreases toward a rear endportion from a front end portion so as to increase a speed of the waterflowing along the lower surface of the trim tab member toward a rearside of the trim tab member.